Various methods have been proposed for individually customizing medication to reduce the possibility of errors in taking of the medication. Every year there are many tragic events where a person's health or life has been put in jeopardy due to the failure to take prescribed medication according to a prescribed protocol.
One solution to this problem includes the preparation of customized blister packaging where this packaging provides a series of different medications to be taken at particular times of the day or week by the user. There are also a number of medication organizing containers that a user fills as part of a manual system. These organizing containers have a series of cells identified for a particular day and a particular time and are typically sized for a week or two week period. Each cell includes a separate lid for accessing of the individual cell and individual medication dosage. These systems assist a user in properly following a prescribed dosage regiment, however these containers require individual filling thereof by the end user and require manipulation of lids to return or remove medication.
Certain automated systems have been proposed for use in a home to also address these problems.
To date, the prior art has tried to address the problems associated with a user taking medication according to a particular time table by providing a system where either the manufacturer, pharmacist or the end user adopts and effectively assumes responsibility for filling of the system.
The present invention proposes a medication cassette that can be used manually by an end user or automatically by a device in the end user's home to control the dosage of medication. The medication cassette can also be used in a traditional manner by a user who manually opens the cassette. This cassette allows an end user, a pharmacy or a manufacturer to preload the cassette for a particular individual.